storage.cloversites.comstorage.cloversites.com/middlevalleybaptistchurch...  · Web viewThis is our second annual report for Middle Valley Baptist Church. We enjoy a rich heritage

This is our second annual report for Middle Valley Baptist Church. We enjoy a rich heritage that connects us with a ministry that God has blessed over the last eighty years. This report is to inform the congregation but also to chronicle how God has been at work in MVBC during 2014. We invite you read this report giving special attention to the hand of God’s providence that is a work behind and beneath everything that has happened in the last year.

MVBC is made of people like you who have been saved by the grace of God. You are gifted to serve in so many different ways. Our church could never exist without the investment of your effort and energy. Thank you for the way you have blessed our fellowship. Only in heaven will the full tale be told of all that was done for the glory of God. It is quite clear that God is not yet finished with MVBC.

You will find a table of contents to tell you where you can find each report. You will also find the Agenda for the Annual Meeting immediately following. You may want to keep this report for future reference.

We look forward to see how God will continue to bring glory to Himself at MVBC and how our ministry can be driven by the power of the Gospel. Solei Deo Gloria!

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Page

Senior Pastor’s Report 4

Associate Pastor’s Report 5

Youth Pastor’s Report 6

Session Report 7

Global/Local Missions 8

Middle Valley Academy 9

Music Ministry 10

Technical Ministry 11

Children’s Ministry 12

North Hamilton Basketball League 13

Camp All Star 14

Student Ministry 15

Women’s Ministry 17

Sunday School 17

Personnel 17

House & Grounds 18

Nominating Committee 18

Financial Report/2015 Proposed Budget 20

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6:00-6:45 Fellowship Meal

6:45-7:00 Worship

7:00-7:05 Student Minister’s Report

7:05:7:10 Associate Pastor’s Report

7:10-7:15 Senior Pastor’s Report

7:15-7:20 Session Report

7:20-7:25 Strategic Planning Team Report

7:25-7:30 Middle Valley Academy Report

7:30-7:35 Music Minister’s Report

7:35-7:50 Financial Report & Adoption of 2015 Budget

7:50-8:00 Affirmations of Deacons

8:00 -8:05 Nominating Committee Report

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Senior Pastor’s ReportDear Friends,

I give thanks to God that he has lead us through another year of worship and ministry at MVBC. I am honored to be your Pastor and appreciate all the encouragements, prayers, and acts of kindness that have blessed me in the past year. God loves MVBC and has promised to be here and bless us as we honor and serve him. I acknowledge my total dependence upon God to enable me to do a job that is way over my head. I am comforted by the mercies of God that are new every morning.

Permit me to remind you of some of the significant events of the past year. This is the first year MVBC has had a team of Elders to oversee our ministry. I am grateful to God for the other elders who spent many hours serving and ministering together. We are still learning how Elders and Deacons work best together in ministering to the congregation at MVBC. The Elders and Deacons have invested countless hours working to make our church pleasing to Christ who redeemed us.

We have invested a significant amount of time and energy to improve our corporate worship at MVBC. We are slowing trying to incorporate meaningful change into our Sunday worship. Pastor Zach has provided leadership as we work through this process. One significant addition is a focused prayer time each week lead by one of our elders. We have worked very hard to plan out our services and present worship services that honor God and engage the congregation.

We made a major shift in our weekly scheduling and have claimed Wednesday night as a time the entire family can be involved at MVBC. Out youth continue to meet at this time but to this we have added two things. Under the leadership of Pastor Mickey we have launched a new ministry children called “Growing Kids.” Already there has been some excellent activities for our children including a retreat weekend and a recent Bond Fire/Hayride that drew many families together. Adults also meet on Wednesday night in the Chapel to pray for the ministry of MVBC.

We formed a Strategic Planning Team to assess the health of our fellowship and suggest some positive things that we can do to strengthen out ministry. Under the leadership of Daniel Noles, the team has invested dozens and dozens of hours getting feedback from you and trying to understand how to most effectively move forward.

Pastor Gary has been played a part in organizing a local Training Network to equip leaders in local churches to develop ministry skills and a more thorough understanding of the Bible. Pastor Gary has just finished a ten week course in the Storyline of the Bible.

God has blessed in many ways. We have had a renewed emphasis on Missions and Evangelism. Nearly fifty people went on a Missions trip to either Guatemala or Jamaica. We had a very challenging month of Mission and just recently had Harold Johnson, a church planter in the Czech Republic and a former member of MVBC. We hosted a dinner to honor Harold and the ministry he has had in Europe.

We have grown in our understanding of God’s Word as it has been taught and preached. God has provided for the financial needs of the church and we have been able to keep all ministries funded. We have had several Sunday Evening Fellowship times with the entire church that have brought the church together for encouragement. We have enjoyed peace with no major divisions or crisis; one way we have encouraged this is to keep our Church Covenant before the congregation each month at the Lord’s

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Table. Middle Valley Academy has competed their first year and are off to a good start with new families being added. It is an encouragement to see some of these families actually attending our church on Sunday.

Even though we have been blessed, we still have real challenges that we must acknowledge and address. We have been grieved to lose some members who have been part of MVBC for some time. We have struggled with finances and faced limitations in funding ministries. We have recognized some inherent weaknesses and have asked the Strategic Planning Team to assess our strengths and weakness and report back to the congregation on our current health and provide some suggestions on how to move forward in a God-honoring way. We struggle to develop a passion for the mission God has assigned us and a joy in belonging to Jesus Christ. Many of the radical changes in our culture are negatrively affecting our life together as a congregation. We are grieved that we have not seen growth through effective evangelism. We sense the need for God to bring about revival to our fellowship and community.

G K Chesterton said some time ago, “Several times in history the church has gone to the dogs but every time the dog died.” We must remember this and not grow discouraged with the challenges nor become arrogant because of our blessings. Our God is able to do far beyond what we can ask or even imagine. Let me challenge you to be bold to trust God and then to demonstrate that trust by following Jesus as trusted disciples.

Thank you supporting me in ministry during the past year. Let’s hope and pray together that the coming year will bring new life to MVBC as we seek together to glorify God.

By His Grace and For his Glory,

Pastor Gary l Scott

Associate Pastor’s ReportDear MVBC Church family,

I want to thank you for your prayers and continued support this past year. It is an honor to serve at my home church as the Associate Pastor. Over the past twenty three years, I have had the privilege of serving MVBC in many different capacities. Currently, my main focus of ministry has been in the areas of Children’s Ministry and leading the Mission Team. I want to give an update on these two areas of ministry and share about the excitement and potential in these areas in the future.

The Children’s Ministry at MVBC is blessed with many committed volunteers serving. The Children’s Leadership Team meets monthly and oversees the ministry to Children at MVBC. We have a very talented and creative group serving on the CLT. I want to share about a couple of new things that are happening within the Children’s ministry and some plans for the future. The children’s ministry has experienced some growth in the past few months with the addition of the Growing Kids ministry. We have been very excited to see new children and new families connected with our church through Growing Kids. The Children went on their first Fall Retreat in October. It was a great time of Fellowship and Worship at Cumberland Springs Bible Camp. The focus passage for the retreat was

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Romans 1:16. This July, we are planning to attend Student Life Children’s Retreat at the Shocco Springs Conference Center in Talladega, Alabama. The Theme for the Summer Camp is Fearless. It is centered on the passage from Psalm 27:1.

The culture has impacted the church and family in many ways over the past generation. A recent survey indicated that parents spend less than fifteen minutes weekly in dialogue with their children. You heard that correctly. Each week, parents on the average are spending less than 900 seconds in real dialogue with their children. When we focus on Children’s ministry at MVBC, we cannot ignore the reality that the home, not the church, is where discipleship is meant to take place. When we read passages like Deuteronomy 6, we see a clear Biblical mandate for the parents to be the primary disciple makers in the home. This is a great challenge today because families are so busy that they don’t even communicate with each other. How can the Children’s Ministry at MVBC make a difference and help parents fulfill their responsibilities in their home? That will be one of the primary focuses of the CLT in 2015. Churches should partner with the parents in discipleship, not replace the parents.

The Mission Team wants to continue to raise the awareness of Global Missions at MVBC. The Mission Team organized the Mission Conference last March. We are currently highlighting different Missionaries/Mission agencies each month. The team will be focusing on the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in December. This offering supports missionaries like Harold Johnson in the Czech Republic. Last year, we received close to $2000 over our goal of $5000 for Lottie Moon. The Team would like to organize a trip to visit Hung Thach in Los Angeles in 2015. We have been supporting Hung financially since he moved there from Chattanooga.

The goal of the Children Ministry and Mission Team are really the same. We want to see lives transformed and individuals growing in their faith in Christ. We are dependent on God to work and move within lives, but we have a responsibility in this process. We must be people of prayer and live lives that embody the name of Jesus to others. May our focus in 2015 be on Christ and His Mission for the His church!

Youth Pastor’s Report Dear Church family,

I thank God for this church and the time I’ve been able to serve. I am now entering my ninth year in serving as the Student Minister, my sixth in a full-time capacity. I consider it a privilege to serve as in this church. I have seen God do amazing things in the hearts of the people of this church and I’m excited to see what He continues to do in the future. My heart for this church and for the students and families I serve has only grown during my time here.

PERSONAL GROWTH

Since I’ve served at Middle Valley, I have been blessed to learn under godly and experienced men. Pastor Greg Lindsey was the encourager I needed when I first attended here. I had recently left a ministry position and I felt jaded and confused about any future in the ministry. It was under Pastor Greg’s leadership that I sensed a calling to full-time ministry here at the church. Working alongside Mickey each day has challenged me as a leader. He’s been an excellent friend and mentor to me in the ministry. Finally, Pastor Gary has probably challenged me in ways I’ve never been challenged. I’ve been able to witness what a solid,

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theological foundation has done for him in the ministry and it’s pushed me to do the same. Under Pastor Gary’s guidance, I have recognized the need for continued education through seminary work. I began some of that work this past year through Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY. I am continuing some class work this winter.

I’m also thankful for the opportunities I have to fill the pulpit that Pastor Gary has given me. I don’t take that responsibility lightly. It’s an opportunity that has stretched and challenged me, but also caused me to grow much deeper as a student of the Word.

WHAT EXCITES ME ABOUT YOUTH MINISTRY

The most exciting thing for me in ministry has always been to see what God does in the lives of students, both while they are still teenagers and throughout their lives. I love to see God take a heart and change it. Oftentimes this happens when I see students get away from their routines of life and out of their comfort zones. Whether it’s a retreat down the road or a mission trip overseas, I love seeing God move and change the hearts of our students. It seems almost year after year our Super Awesome Weekend retreat I’ve had the privilege of baptizing students who’ve trusted Christ. However, most of the time this happens in the context of relationship over time. I’m so blessed to have so many amazing youth leaders who love our students. These leaders take time to invest in our students beyond what happens on a Sunday or Wednesday. Seeing those relationships develop and how God uses those to grow a student’s faith is easily the most exciting thing for me in youth ministry. I love seeing these bonds that are formed last well beyond a student’s Jr high and high school years.

CHALLENGES/PRAYER NEEDS

The administrative responsibilities of youth ministry can be demanding at times. These include communicating with parents, communicating with students, planning retreats/camps/activities/mission trips, overseeing projects, etc. I am blessed this year, as Chrystal Murphy has volunteered to come alongside to help our student ministry to help with many of the administrative responsibilities. This has been a huge blessing for me.

Another challenge is simply focusing on keeping the main the main thing, which is first, my relationship with God and secondly, ministering to people. Ministering to people where they are or wrestling with God over direction for a message can be difficult things, but that’s why I’m in the ministry and it brings the most rewarding aspects to ministry.

Pray for my heart for God above all else. Pray that I will grow in my love for Him.

Pray for my heart to continue to grow for students, families, and our youth leaders

Pray for me to respond with active obedience to the difficult things God calls me to do

Zach Wyatt, Student Minister

The Session Report It has been one year since the Congregation moved to becoming an elder led church. While remaining strongly congregational, Middle Valley Baptist Church now has a group of men, chosen by the church, giving oversight to the spiritual health and growth of its members. As with most changes, there are many positive things to celebrate and areas of challenges which have been, or need to be, worked through.

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The Elders and Deacons have continued to meet together on a monthly basis as we seek how the church leadership can best serve the Body of Christ at MVBC. After meeting together for half an hour to an hour, the Deacons and Elders then divide into their respective groups to further discuss matters pertaining more towards “Eldering” or “Deaconing”. Pray for us as we continue to work through the issues “How do Elders and Deacons work together?” and “How do Elders and Deacons best lead and serve our church?”

When the early church saw the need for selecting godly men step in and be given the responsibility for taking care of the physical needs of the members of the church (these were the first deacons), Acts 6:4 records the Apostles explaining that this would free them to devote themselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word. From the beginning of establishing Elders at MVBC, we have met separately the third Wednesday of the month for the sole purpose of praying for the church and for individual needs within the Body. Praying for our church has been a true pleasure for each of us, even when praying for difficult challenges.

Other highlights from 2014 include:Incorporating Pastoral Prayer in our worship services and seeking to make our observation of the Lord’s Table a more worshipful event and as a body of believers celebrating together what Christ has done.

The Elders have begun to work through several challenging areas at MVBC including the areas of Communication and Planning & Preparation. These problems have often led to poorly planned and executed ministry events or programs, low participation by church members and church members feeling frustrated. Remedies to address these problems include having Elder oversight of our ministries and working with them, encouraging them as they seek to minister to our church. We have begun by creating an Annual Church Calendar with the major ministry events, programs and other important activities for the upcoming year. We are also working to create calendars for the next 2, 3 and 5 years for events such as Mission Trips, Conferences etc.

We are encouraged by the many ways God has blessed our church during this past year and look forward to what God has in store for Middle Valley Baptist Church in 2015.

Global/Local Mission TeamsPURPOSE: To follow the command of Jesus Christ to go, making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  We want to equip the body of believers at MVBC to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ!

WHO IS PARTICIPATING? The mission team is made up of about 15 members of MVBC.

HOW IS THE MINISTRY DOING?  The mission team has been busy in 2014.   The team coordinated the five week Mission Conference in the Spring.  We are excited about the future of this ministry as we are highlighting the different missions/mission agencies that the church supports.

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WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR? These teams have been working on a mission budget, evaluating our expenses and the possibility of reallocating some of the funds.  We are making contact with the missionaries that we support to get updates of their work and needs they may have so that we can better encourage and pray for them.  The Mission Conference was the largest accomplishment in 2014.

SPECIAL CHALLENGES: Challenging people’s hearts to see the importance of living a life on mission as called to by Jesus Christ, and challenging people to invest in a personal way with time and finances for the sake of the Gospel.

GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR: The mission team is planning to highlight a different missionary/mission agency each month. We plan to create better communication with our supported missionaries and communicate needs to the congregation at MVBC. We hope to visit Hung Thach in Los Angeles in 2015.

PRAYER NEEDS: Pray for our missionaries and local ministries.  Pray for the finances to bring in our missionaries to share their stories, to help meet their special needs and to help send our members on short-term mission trips to share the Gospel and encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ around the world.  Pray for the team as we seek to keep our congregation informed about our missionaries and pray the Holy Spirit will spark a passion for living on His mission in our hearts.

Middle Valley AcademyPURPOSE: Our purpose is to partner with parents from our church and community in loving their children, teaching them about the love of Christ, and helping them to learn age appropriate educational and life skills that will prepare them for the future God has for them.

WHO IS PARTICIPATING? This year in the Academy we have a Director, 8 teachers, Pastor Gary as our elder and an Advisory Team made up of 8 MVBC members to help provide feedback and direction for our program. This year we have 25 students ages 6 months – 3 years in our PDO program, 15 students ages 4-5 in our Pre-school and 7 5-year-olds in our Kindergarten.

MINISTRY UPDATE: Things have gone well this first quarter of school and we are excited about all the changes and opportunities taking place.

This year we have 2 classes of PreK4 instead of 1 like last year. We divided the classes by birthdays so we have a younger and an older class.

Last year we were an official Pre-K program licensed by the Dept. of Human Services, and this year, with the addition of our ½ Day Kindergarten, we became an official school registered with the Hamilton County Dept. of Education and a member school with the TN Assoc. of Christian Schools. You can see our certificates posted outside the office. Our Kindergarten students and parents love the school and this unique opportunity we are providing for them!

This year we registered as a school with Box Tops 4 Education and now we can begin collecting Box Tops to earn cash for our school. We are hoping to be able to provide some new technology for the classrooms which will benefit our Sunday School classes as well!

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Our service projects are in full swing! With funds donated and earned from last year and this year, we have purchased a new climber for our playground, replacing a worn-out broken piece. Pastor Gary also built our kids a small balance beam to play on. Check them out on our playground! Currently our classes are bringing in items to fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child and will be bringing in mittens in December for our Mitten Tree which will benefit homeless children at the Community Kitchen.

We have had a couple of families from our Academy visit on a Sunday morning and/or bringing their children to our Growing Kids program because their kids feel at home here.

SPECIAL CHALLENGES/GOALS/PRAYER REQUESTS FOR THE NEW YEAR: It is always a challenge at the start of each year not knowing how many students are going to register and if we will have enough to be able to pay our teachers an acceptable amount. This leads us to several goals and prayer requests for this year.

1. Praise the Lord that most of our goals from last year have already been met this year!2. Please pray as we are in the process of working with the state to change our building

description from “General Assembly” to “Educational” which would allow us to enroll more students. Currently our max allowed is 23 and we have 22 this year in our licensed program.

3. We are trying to find more ways to get the word out to the community about our PreK and Kindergarten. The community needs to know we are here so that we can continue growing.

4. Having more students would also allow us to pay our teachers what they should be paid.5. Pray that we would be able to find effective ways where we can minister and share God’s love

with the families of our students.

Music/Creative Arts MinistriesPURPOSE: The worship of our Creator should be active and ongoing in our daily lives.  In our

worship time on Sundays, the purpose of this ministry is to help create an environment for focused worship and to enhance the preaching and teaching of the Gospel message through the use of music, video and drama.  Through all these things, it is our desire to lead the heart to remember and to worship the creative God we serve!

WHO IS PARTICIPATING? This ministry team includes a worship leader, the band and praise ensemble, and the technical/sound volunteers.  Throughout the year, for special services and holidays, other church members participate in various ways through readings, children’s performances, dramatic and musical presentations, signing, etc.

HOW IS THE MINISTRY DOING? It is difficult to evaluate exactly how the ministry is doing and the team values feedback from our church members, but we feel the Music Ministry Team and all involved have done a great job in leading the worship service and maintaining our purpose.  We are glad to occasionally have new church members who are willing to join us to participate and use their talents on the AV and Sound Teams, the praise band and ensemble, and in special performances (Globe Team, children specials, etc.)

WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR? We feel that a great balance of music has been accomplished in our services with hymns new and old, and contemporary praise and worship

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music.  We feel like the technical side of the services flows smoothly and is not a distraction to the service.  We feel that the use of drama and other dramatic elements have been an asset to the preaching services and add a picture element that helps us to remember intended lessons.

SPECIAL CHALLENGES: Challenges always come in music ministry when people have different preferences to styles of music.  It is also difficult many times to find people who are willing to get up in front of a crowd and sing, play, or perform individually or in a group, or even to help with the service planning or working behind the scenes learning the AV and sound.

GOALS FOR THE NEW YEAR:

1. We would like to be able to incorporate more people within our music ministry this next year – singers, musicians, etc.

2. We hope to possibly put together a dessert theatre sometime in the summer of 2015.

3. Organize 1-2 “Sing along” worship services this next year

PRAYER NEEDS:

1. Please pray for the Worship Planning Team as they meet to plan the worship services.  Pray that our worship will bring God glory! 

2. Pray that the hearts of those participating in the Music Ministry and the hearts of our members here at MVBC will worship all week long and then bring a heart of celebration before the Lord on Sunday mornings as we praise the Lord together for His goodness! 

3. Pray that we can add to the number of those serving on the praise team so that we have more members involved in leading worship.

4. Pray for more AV volunteers so that we can have 4 complete rotations of those serving the morning worship services.

Technical ServicesPURPOSE: the best possible atmosphere for worship.  This includes, but is not limited to, creating the best music mix possible, creating an audio mix that meets the mood the pastor/worship leader wants to convey, and supporting the audio needs of the people involved with the church service. To provide IMAG (Image Magnification – This is putting the speaker on the screens) during the service to enhance the congregation's experience. This includes getting the best image possible, keeping focused on the target, providing a non-distracting view of the target for the screens. The technical services team should support the graphic needs of the people involved with the church service. This could include creating various slides/pictures to enhance the service. As a member of the technical services team, we understand that we have a huge impact on the service. While we strive to provide the best audio/visual possible, it is important to notice that we can also be a distraction to the service if we are not providing the quality that we should. Not all distractions are able to be avoided and some come with working with technology. We take the work we do in technical services seriously and realize that this is a way to serve God and the church, fellowship with one another and build relationships. Ultimately, our goal as a tech team is to glorify God through providing excellent audio/visual services.

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MEMBERS: Jeff Martin, Mike Murphy, Mike Richardson, Robby Hoelke, Gus Wilson, Chrystal Murphy, Ruth Dammann, Matt Hicks, Dakota Toran, Ashley Conner, Hailey Turner.

CHALLENGES:

1. FINANCES: When a piece of our equipment goes down, it is often costly to repair. We currently need a new scaler which is approximately $500. We also need a better system to communicate between our control room, the camera operator and the sound engineer. Currently we use walkie talkie’s, which are cheap and need to be replaced fairly regularly.

2. PEOPLE: We are in need of a few more people to serve on the technical services team. While we could use people in all areas, sound is an area of immediate need. If you have experience running sound, we could use you in our rotation. If you are interested in serving with us, please contact Jeff Martin.

2015 GOALS: The purchase and implementation of a hearing assist system to benefit those who have a difficult time hearing the messages. We attempted to bring the very old units we used in the chapel to the ministry center, but did not have good success getting these to work. A new unit with four receivers will cost approximately $1,500.00.

Develop an additional 4 person team to spread out the time between dates each team member serves, which will allow team members to take part in the services with their families.

Continue to provide high quality technical services each Sunday and to glorify God with this act of worship.

Children’s MinistryPURPOSE: By God’s grace, the Children’s Ministry of MVBC exists to partner with families to bring up our children in Gospel-centered training and instruction so that they will love God with all their heart, soul, mind and strength.

WHO IS PARTICIPATING? Our Children’s Ministry at MVBC is starting to grow with around 45 children ages 3 through 5th grade.  We have parent volunteers, and a Children’s Leadership Team made up of about 19 adults who have felt called to participate in and further this ministry for God’s glory!

HOW IS THE MINISTRY DOING?  Our Children’s Ministry has seen God’s blessing in 2014. With the addition of the Growing Kids Ministry, we have seen our children excited about inviting their friends to church. We hope to continue to build on that momentum in 2015. The Children’s Leadership Team is meeting on a monthly basis planning and leading this ministry.

WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR? The Children’s Ministry  has some positive things going on. The Sunday School ministry for MVBC children continues to teach our kids the word of God. We are excited about new changes coming to the Children Church time.  The Growing Kids ministry on Wednesday nights has been a great blessing.  The children are leading their catechisms and we have seen five new families visiting the church through Growing Kids. 

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SPECIAL CHALLENGES: Satan will always try to disrupt where the Gospel is being taught to children.  The biggest challenge right now in the Children’s Ministry is for passionate parents, grandparents, and volunteers who are willing to invest their time and knowledge and love to share with our children. 

GOALS FOR 2015: We would like to transition our ministry into a family equipping ministry. God has called parents to be the primary disciple makers in the home. We want to help parents understand their God given responsibility and be successful equipping their own children.

PRAYER NEEDS: We need prayer for wisdom, direction, and unity among our Children’s Leadership Team.  We pray that the members of MVBC will become passionate about using their time and resources in helping parents bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.  This is the very heart of God!  Pray that God will call someone to us to lead our Children’s Ministry into the coming years, and that He will lead us to give to make it possible.

North Hamilton Basketball League PURPOSE:     To operate a well-organized youth basketball program for the North Hamilton County Elementary Schools for children in grades 2-5. This league will provide high quality games where good sportsmanship and fair play are stressed. We pray that God will use this league to open opportunities for the Gospel to be shared and received.

NEW LEADERSHIP: Josh Miller, Matt Hicks and Bobby Hoelke will be serving as the leadership team in NHBL.

WHO IS PARTICIPATING:    The NHBL has grown to thirteen Hamilton County elementary schools that now participate.  We anticipate 450 boys and girls playing in the league this season.  The schools participating include Allen, Alpine Crest, Big Ridge, CSAS , Daisy, Falling Water, Ganns Middle Valley, Hixson, McConnell, Lookout Valley,  North Hamilton, Red Bank and Soddy Elementary.

HOW IS THE MINISTRY DOING?  The children and their families that have participated in this league are very thankful for the league.  This year will mark our 6th season of NHBL basketball and it has grown each year.

WHY IS OUR CHURCH SPONSORING A SCHOOL BASKETBALL LEAGUE?  After over fifteen years of hosting an Upward Basketball league, we realized that most of the kids that participated were churched kids.  We wanted to host a league to connect with unbelievers in this community.  Our desire is to build relationship with people that need Christ!

WHAT HAS BEEN ACCOMPLISHED SO FAR?  The NHBL has created opportunities for relationships to be established with unbelievers. Middle Valley Baptist has had numerous families visit the church over the past five years and we had a family join the church last year through this ministry.

SPECIAL CHALLENGES:  We will be working this season to contact NHBL children to Growing Kids at MVBC. 

GOALS FOR THIS SEASON:   To see families reached for Christ!  

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PRAYER NEEDS:  Please pray that God will use this ministry to glorify Himself.  Pray that families will hear the gospel message and openly respond.  Pray that NHBL families that visit MVBC will be warmly received by the congregation.

Camp All StarPURPOSE:  Camp All Star is a ministry that creates a positive Christian environment to minister to families in our community.  It is a Vacation Bible School, Sports Camp and Summer Bible Camp all combined!  It is a place where kids can have fun, make friends and learn about the love of Jesus Christ.

WHEN DOES CAS TAKE PLACE?  Camp All Star operates for four consecutive weeks in the month of June.  Each week different specialties are offered for the children ages four through the fifth grade. 

WHAT GOES ON AT CAMP? Each year CAS chooses a theme to follow and everything points back to the theme chosen.  Each week the children can choose from a variety of specialties.  These include different sports tracks, drama, art, etc.  The children learn the specialty they have chosen, participate in group competitions, sing and dance, learn about missions and participate in a service project, and every Friday, they are presented with the Gospel message.

WHO IS PARTICIPATING?  In 2014, CAS averaged 108 children from our church and community each week.  We had 191 children that attended at CAS during the month of June, with some attending all 4 weeks.  Each year, there are also around 20 college kids who work as the team leaders and high school kids from our church who serve on the service teams.

WHAT WAS THE THEME OF CAS 2014?  The camp theme was “Tell the Story.”  We focused on our mission to tell others the story of Jesus. 

WHAT MINISTRY DID CAS SUPPORT THIS YEAR?  The CAS kids participated in a competition between the boys and the girls, bringing in money each week that would go to support the CAS Compassion student in Guatemala.  The child’s name is Daniel.  Daniel was very sick this past spring.  Compassion helped Daniel get the medical attention that he needed in the Guatemala City hospital.  The boys and girls gave generously each week to help Daniel.  Our Guatemala mission team got to spend time with Daniel this summer.

WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR THE FUTURE?  In 2014, we added new specialties like Science and Guitar. We would like to continue adding specialties that highlight the arts and education. 

SPECIAL CHALLENGES AND PRAYER NEEDS: Pray for guidance and wisdom for the planning team as they prepare for this summer.  Pray for the college students, high school students and children who will be hearing the Gospel message each week!

Student MinistryPURPOSE: We want to be used by God to develop students who, because of the gospel, are passionate followers of Jesus Christ, who love Him, enjoy Him and are surrendered to Him.

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VALUES:

Family-Driven: We believe we exist to complement and support the parents in their primary ministry, which is their family, rather than the other way around. (Deut 6:4-9)

Authentic Community: We desire to create an environment where students feel loved, safe, comfortable and encouraged. (1 Peter 5)

Mission Minded: We believe God wants students to be a part of His story. We want students to realize that we do not want them to simply come to church, but they are the church. (1 Peter 4:10; Mark 6:7-13)

God’s Word: We want students to see God’s infallible Word as central to all that we do > teaching to worship to small groups, etc. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Small Groups: We believe a mature adult, other than the parents, needs to be actively involved in a student’s life- to be a mentor, listener, friend and teacher. (2 Timothy 2:1-2; 1 Thess. 2:1-12)

WHAT DO WE DO:

Sunday School: Jr High and Sr High classes 9-10 AMChris and Dawn Morrow lead the Jr High class

Zach and April Wyatt lead the High School class

Refuge (Wednesday Nights): 6:15- 8 PMRefuge is a weekly gathering for students (6-12 Grade) who come together for worship, teaching, fellowship, games, and small groups.

Student Leadership (Sunday Nights- Bi-weekly): 7:15-8:30 PMEvery other week high school students are encouraged to come together for a deeper Bible study and plan ways students can be involved in ministry in the community and in the church.

Youth Worship Team: Each week at Refuge our students lead us in worship. They have worked very hard over the last couple years to transition our worship to being led completely by students. They meet each week on Wednesday afternoons to practice.

SMALL GROUP MINISTRY

Small Groups are the heart of what we do in student ministry. Each week at Refuge small groups break off for 25-35 minutes to discuss the message from the week and to share their lives together. We currently have 13 small group leaders serving:

9th-12th Girls: Ruth Dammann, Monique Douglas, Andrea Kirkman

7th-8th Girls: Jenny Richardson, Chrystal Murphy

6th Girls: Lindsey Hunt, April Wyatt

11th-12th Guys: Daryl Crow, Zach Wyatt

10th Guys: Josh Prairie, Heath Lusk

6th- 9th Guys: Joe Kelley, Dakota Toran15

Small group leaders go above and beyond what happens on Wednesday nights. Many of them seek out opportunities to invest in the students outside of church.

WHAT’S GOING ON IN STUDENT MINISTRY?

Mission Trips/Retreats/Campso In 2014, we took a youth mission trip to Buff Bay, Jamaica with a total of 22 including 14

students. Including the Compassion International trip to Guatemala, we had a total of 24 teenagers participate in an international mission trip this summer.

o Disciple Now- We just concluded our first Disciple Now Retreat. We plan to continue this retreat annually.

o Super Awesome Weekend- Each year on President’s Day weekend, the MVBC student ministry leads a retreat for several local churches. Our next SAW retreat is scheduled for Feb 13-15 and will be held at Shocco Springs in Talladega, AL. This is one of the highlights of the year for our students. We typically take about 40 students from our church. We have 5 other churches committed to attend this year.

o 2015 Summer Camp- Student Life at Stetson University near Orlando, FL. The week is June 27th – July 3rd.

o Pray 4 Me- We are in our second year of Pray For Me. The goal is to connect each student with 3 adults (prayer champions) from 3 different generations who will commit to pray daily for that student. We currently have 79 adults praying for 51 students.

FACILITY UPGRADES: Thanks to some special donations we’ve been able to upgrade several areas of our youth space. We’ve painted the Ministry Center Auditorium, and the two rooms upstairs. We’ve purchased new lighting and new pipe and drape for the Auditorium. We also had several totes donated to help with organizing Bibles, supplies, and game equipment.

SPECIAL CHALLENGES: One of the challenges we’ve faced this school year is a drop in our weekly attendance from the previous years. We know that students are busier than ever before. Between academics, athletics and extra-curricular activities, their schedules are more full than they’ve ever been. Teachers are now pressured more than ever which falls on the students. This is a challenge for us as we seek to invest in our students on an ongoing basis.

PRAYER NEEDS:

Our Leaders- Sunday School and Small Group Leaders- Pray for our hearts and our love for God above all else

Our Students- Our students have many diverse needs. They come from different backgrounds and homes. Pray for students to be passionate about following God and the things of God.

Connecting with students- We have students in our ministry who have little to no parental involvement when it comes to spiritual matters. Pray for our leaders as we stand in the gap for these students.

Women’s Ministry As women of MVBC, we strongly feel that we have been “Called to Love”, especially the women of our church. As a women’s ministry we try to do this through prayer time together, women’s Bible studies, fellowship times, community service projects, etc. It is a commitment of the team to assist

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women in growing their faith and love of Jesus Christ through Bible studies and strengthened relationships with other women. This past year has been a lean year of events sponsored by the women’s ministry team. But our activities have included, card making event (we send birthday cards to the seniors that we have dates for), hosting one of the senior dinners by cooking, serving and enjoying time with them. We have also hosted a “secret sisters” program for several months, providing a way of praying and encouraging ladies on a personal level. We provided a ladies Bible study this past spring with a morning and evening class.

Co Leaders:

Janie Ghaffari and Jennifer Cookston

Sunday School MinistryPURPOSE: The Sunday School ministry is an excellent opportunity for our church family to study the word and pray together in a more intimate setting than the full worship service. We are currently studying The Gospel Project. We just began Unit 9 of 12. It is exciting to know that we are three quarters of the way through an in depth study of the whole bible. We have classes for all ages and each spends some time in prayer as well as study. Our teachers are dedicated and work hard to do a good job for their classes.

CHALLENGE: The biggest challenge the Sunday School department currently faces is getting the church family as a whole to see how important attending a class can be. Attendance is not only important for personal study and growth, it is also our best tool for nurturing the new Christians among us. The Sunday School hour is an excellent time to get your hearts and minds ready for the worship time that follows.

In the coming year it would be wonderful to see all of our classes grow to the extent that new classes need to be added.

Personnel TeamFrom the Constitution and Bylaws of MVBC:VI: Officers and Church OrganizationsSection 2: A. The Personnel Team shall have oversight of the job description and the employment of budgeted support staff such as secretaries, custodians, accompanists, etc. It shall bring its recommendations to the Elders for approval.

Personnel Team is working to update the remaining job descriptions. There have been no issues with the staff we supervise.

House and GroundsThe House and Grounds Team for 2014 consist of Ron Standefer (chairman), Bryan Allsen, Jay Cookston, Lewis Hall, Ron Jeffers, Buddy Kemp, Jim Sedman, Tommy Standefer, Gary Suttle and

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Gus Wilson. The purpose of this team is to honor God by ensuring that the facilities and grounds are functional, safe and well maintained.

Some of our major accomplishments and repairs made this past year include the following:

1. House and Grounds has organized volunteer job assignments for facilities and grounds.2. We are in the process of consolidating our fire and security systems under the umbrella

of one company – International Fire Protection Company.3. Four sprinkler heads were added to our ministry center and we now meet state fire

codes.4. Evacuation plans for severe weather warnings have been put in place when groups are

occupying the ministry center.5. On the second floor of the ministry center, two rooms and the auditorium have been

painted and the lighting in the auditorium is in the process of being improved.6. The lighting in the fellowship hall has also been improved and the bulbs are more

energy efficient.7. A major outside waterline leak was repaired between the chapel and the fellowship hall.8. In an effort to reduce energy usage, there have been more programmable thermostats

installed.9. Two trees were trimmed and two trees cut down close to the ministry center in order to

prevent dead limbs from damaging the roof.

A future project for 2015 – April 11, 2015:

The House and Grounds Team is encouraging a church member or a group of members to adopt a section of our grounds for the purpose of beautifying that section with shrubbery, flowers and etc. Gus Wilson will head this project.

Nominating CommitteeChurch Officers House & Grounds TeamTreasurer – Jason Cookston Jay Cookston Tommy StandeferAsst. Treasurer – Daniel Noles Lewis Hall Gus WilsonClerk – Becky Kean Ron Jeffers Ron StandeferTrustee – Bill Haney Buddy Kemp Gary SuttleTrustee – Earl Kretzschmar Jim SedmanTrustee – Ron Standefer

Finance Team Technical Services TeamJason Cookston Daniel Noles Jeff Martin Ruth DammannLee Kirkman Gary Suttle Mike Murphy Matt HicksJennifer Crow Rob Hoelke

Personnel TeamDavid Conner Jay Cookston Counting TeamBruce Gentry Sharon Robinson Linda Brown Jennifer CookstonRon Jeffers Andrea Kirkman Lee Kirkman Betty Standefer

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Jonathan Prater Joe Kelley Candyce Rector Sharon RobinsonStephanie Standefer

Nominating TeamDavid Conner Stacey Conner Social/Floral TeamJoy Hicks Daniel Noles Becky Kean Stacey ConnerMichael Strickland Joy Hicks Dana LasleyCaryn Kretzschmar – Sunday School Director April Wyatt Lindsey Hunt

Megan Kaisner

Senior AdultsJoe and Karen Wilson Bereavement Team

Sharon Liendecker Sharon RobinsonUshers Ann Scott Vicki SuttleLloyd Goggans – Coordinator Pat CookstonBarry Branam Bruce GentryGary Hicks Buddy Kemp Baptismal TeamSam McNabb Gus Wilson Walt and Becky KeanJoe Wilson

LibraryJoy Group Team Kathreen HortonBruce and Marsha GentryGary and Vicki Suttle

Sunday School3 - 4 Year Olds: Michael & Melissa Strickland K – 1st Grade: Sharon Robinson2nd – 3rd Grade: Gary & Joy Hicks 4th – 5th: Stacey Conner & Melody NolesMiddle School: Chris & Dawn Morrow High School: Zach WyattYoung Adults: Andrea Kirkman Adult Bible Fellowship 1: Mickey RectorAdult Bible Fellowship 2: Gary Scott Men: Earl KretschmarLadies 1: Jenny Crawley Ladies 2: Gigi Ellis, Dana Lasley, Ruth Ann BradfordLadies 3: Frances McClure

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Middle Valley Baptist Church

2014 Financial Analysis

Year End Review:

The year 2014 has been a unique year for finances at MVBC. We have seen an overall $10,000 loss through the month of October, but we have seen a $7,000 increase in giving compared to 2013.

Comparison of Giving:

Comparison of Bank Account Balances:

ACCOMPLISHMENTS:

Refinanced the debt with First Volunteer bank.

SPECIAL CHALLENGES:

Overall Church Debt $788,000. Increase Giving for rest of 2014 and 2015. Continue to control expenses as we have done in 2014. Repairs and Maintenance to our property and buildings. Maintain giving when levels through Summer/Vacation seasons.

PRAYER NEEDS:

Pray that God will give our people a heart to give over and above the 10% the Lord requires of people.

Pray that God will remove the debt placed on our congregation. Pray that God will help us be good stewards of the financial resources of what He has given

us.

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Middle Valley Baptist Church2014 Proposed Budget

(Decrease) \2014 2013 Increase

Missions5100 - Missions Conference 2,800 2,800 5110 - SBC-Cooperative Program 6,000 6,000 5120 - TBC-Cooperative Program 4,000 4,000 5125 - Compassion Intl ·Student 3,600 3,600 5130 - Hamilton County Baplist Assoc 1,000 1,000 5150 - Local Missions 1,400 1,400 5151 - Choices Pregnancy Resource C· 2,300 2,300 5155 - Romanian Missions 1,600 1,600 5156 - Heather Lusk 1,200 1,200 5161 - Bethel Bible 1,200 1,200 5162 - Ed & Diane Lacy Ministry 1,200 1,200 5164 - Student Venture 1,600 1,600 5170 - Benevolence/Bereavement 250 - 250 Total Missions 28,150 27,900 250

Buildings/Automobiles5200 - Debt Retirement 78,000 88,500 (10,500)5210 - Properties/Auto Insurance 9,000 9,000 5230 - Technical Services 1,500 - 1,500 5240 - Building Equipment/Repairs 6,000 4,560 1,440 5260 - Lawn Maintenance 1,300 500 800 Total Buldings/Automoblles 95,800 102,560 (6,760)

Education & Promotion5340 - Educational Resources 8,000 8,000 5420 - Children's Ministry 2,400 1,750 650 5430 - Creative Arts Ministry-General 700 700 5490 - Socials-Churchwide 800 - 800 5530 - Evangelism/Outreach 500 150 350 5550 -Youth/College Ministry 7,055 5,745 1,310 Total Education & Promotion 19,455 16,345 3,110

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Middle Valley Baptist Church2014 Proposed Budget

(Decrease) \2014 2013 Increase

Personnel5710 - Pastor's Salary 20,437 20,437 5720 - Pastor's Annuity 6,000 6,000 5740 - Pastor's Health Insurance 8,500 8,500 5750 - Pastor's Housing Allowance 24,000 24,000 5760 - Pastor' Auto Expense 5,500 5,500 5765 - Pastor Ministry Expenses 5,500 5,500 5770 - Worship/Arts Leader 25,655 25,655 5780 -Associate Pastors Salary 7,163 7,163 5790 - Associate Pastor's Auto Expens1 750 750 5800 - Associate Pastor's Insurance 5,300 5,300 5810 - Associate Pastor's Housing 24,000 24,000 5815 - Associate Pastor's Annuity 3,120 3,120 5825 - Assoc- Pastor's Ministry Expens 1,000 1,000 5830 - Instrumentalists 1,030 1,030 5831 - Youth Pastor 6,169 6,169 5832 - Youth Pastor Housing 20,000 20,000 5833 - Youth Pastor Insurance 4,400 4,400 5834 - Youth Pastor IRA 1,200 1,200 5835 - Youth Pastor Auto Expense 2,000 2,000 5836 - Youth Pastor Ministry Exp 1,200 1,200 5840 - Secretary Salary 16,902 16,902 5841 - Financial Secretary 5,191 5,191 5865 - Cleaning Service 3,900 3,900 5880 - Custodian 2,678 2,678 5900 - Employer's FICA/Medicare 4,200 4,200 5910 - Workman's Comp- Ins- 1,500 1,500 Total Personnel 207,295 207,295 -

General6010 - Office Supplies 2,000 1,500 500 6011 - Postage 700 700 6012 - Credit Card Discounts - - 6020 - Office Equipment/Repairs 5,600 3,000 2,600 6030 - Utilities 39,000 39,000 6060 - Janitor Supplies 2,000 1,700 300 Total General 49,300 45,900 3,400

Total Expenses 400,000 400,000 - 22